The present invention relates generally to a system, method and software application for securely transmitting information. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system, method and software application which allows for the secure transmission of information using multiple transmission methods to enhance security and efficiency.
At present, most Internet network traffic is routed through a public network infrastructure comprised of public and third party routers, servers and switches. This public network, while proficient in transmitting large amounts of data, is notoriously insecure. Anything sent across the Internet can be easily snooped upon. This is of particular concern when highly confidential information, such as corporate data and credit card numbers, are transmitted across the Internet.
For most users, the only protection available for the secure transmission of data over the Internet is encryption which includes using an encryption algorithm and an associated encryption key. In this way, encrypted data is sent to a receiving party who, based on an encryption algorithm and a corresponding decryption algorithm (key), decrypts the encrypted data to recapture the original data. Such encryption systems include software conforming to the widely used Data Encryption Standard (“DES”), which utilizes a symmetric key. Alternatively, such systems may include “public key cryptography,” also known as “asymmetric cryptography” in which a public key is used to encrypt messages and a private key is used to decrypt messages. In this system, only the matching private key can be used to retrieve and decrypt messages encrypted by a specific public key.
Regardless of the encryption method used, important limitations and complications arise. One key limitation in using encrypted messages lies in the fact that the messages, however encrypted, still travel across open public networks during transmission. This creates substantial opportunity for the messages to be intercepted and decrypted.
An additional limitation to present encryption systems is that the security of each system rests with the security of the encryption keys themselves. These keys must be protected and secured at all times to ensure the secrecy of the system. This task becomes nearly impossible for very large organizations where employee turnover and attrition is very high. This task is further complicated by the need in most cases to transmit the keys protecting the network traffic by the same public network over which the later encrypted messages will be sent.
Accordingly, there is a strong need for a system which increases the security of data transmitted over the Internet especially for security-minded users.